I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

She breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that Amamiya was only slightly annoyed and had no other behavior.

"Because after I fell, the stun grenade rolled to a considerable distance from me before exploding..."

Unless they are directly hit in the face by a flashbang grenade, even a close-range explosion of a flashbang grenade would hardly cause any harm to the students of Kivotos.

But for a kitchen filled with all sorts of tableware... that's a completely different story.

Although Kirino didn't fill in the whole story, Amamiya could deduce the rest of the details without even thinking.

First, don't underestimate the explosion of a flashbang grenade—although the explosive power of a flashbang grenade is not great, it is still an explosion after all.

Secondly, due to the ultra-high frequency shock wave at the moment of explosion, the flashbang grenade will produce a brief phenomenon similar to an EMP pulse, causing some commonly used household appliances in the room to malfunction instantly.

These two key factors alone are enough to 'instantly destroy all the tableware'.

Amamiya sighed softly, "It's good that you're not hurt... Be more careful next time."

【~???~】

After being further assured by Amamiya's attitude that she would not be punished or disciplined this time, Kirino was overjoyed.

She nodded vigorously, her face full of gratitude: "Yes, yes! I'll definitely be more careful next time!"

[...I felt Kirino's gratitude.]

My bond with Kirino has deepened...

【Kirino Nakamatsu (Justice) ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆】

Amamiya twitched the corner of her mouth but said nothing.

It's best to avoid a next time...

If Amamiya had known this would happen, he wouldn't have let the impetuous Kirino handle the kitchen affairs.

When Amamiya returned to the Xialai office building with Kirino, she learned from Kirino whether there had been any special changes at Xialai during the time she was away yesterday evening and this morning.

Back at the Xia Lai office building, Kirino carefully placed the shoulder bag she was carrying next to her desk, tapped her chin with her index finger, tilted her head slightly in thought for a moment, and then made her conclusion.

"The general situation is like this..."

"In the afternoon after Sensei left, around that time of evening... Saori and Hiyori from Arios's team each came to ask about Sensei's situation."

"After I answered truthfully, they expressed their understanding and then went to the firing range..."

"In addition, between evening and late at night, two... no, two students with fox ears came to Sensei."

Quickly correcting her slip of the tongue, Kirino recalled the situation and described it slowly: "One of the fox-eared students had long, straight blonde hair, and the other had brown hair... They said they were looking for Sensei. After I informed them that Sensei was currently away on a business trip, they left."

Two... no, two fox-eared students...

Amamiya, who was almost "infected" by Kirino, immediately made a visual counterpart among the students she knew.

Kurumi and Otoko from the Fox Squad...?

Why did they come to find me?

Surely we can't just apologize separately like Nicole did, can we?

Perhaps it was simply to deepen the relationship?

"As for this morning... this morning..."

Kirino seemed to recall something 'impressive' and paused for a while.

"This morning, a blonde student who claimed to be 'Sensei's personal maid' came to see you... I told her that Sensei was away on a business trip, and she seemed quite wary, observing me intently for a while... then went downstairs to the flowerbed to plant some flowers... and then left."

This 'visitor' is definitely someone who has only recently started planning to move into Xia Lai.

As for what kind of flowers she planted... Amamiya compared the flowerbed in her memory with the one she saw today and realized that it was "golden tulips".

To some extent, it does indeed fit Shi's personal style.

Are these all the visitors?

Kirino counted on her fingers and confirmed Amamiya's question again.

She nodded vigorously, seemingly after confirming it was correct several times.

"Okay! That's all, Sensei."

"That's it..."

Amamiya nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly remembered something, reached out and ruffled Kirino's hair.

Kirino, who was being patted on the head, was clearly stunned for a moment, her expression incredulous, before her clear eyes quickly welled up with emotion.

“Sen, Sensi…wouldn’t this be considered ‘assaulting a police officer’?”

Amamiya: "...?"

He withdrew his hand in confusion and glanced at Kirino.

The "head pat" that used to consistently win Kirino's favor is now not working?

After pondering what had just happened, Kirino's eyes widened slightly, and a faint, lovely blush rose on her cheeks.

"……wrong."

"What was Sensei just doing?!"

【~???~】

Amamiya: '...'

So it wasn't that it wasn't working, but rather that Kirino's thought process was a bit slow, causing a delay?

"This is a way of encouraging students." In response to Kirino's flustered question, Amamiya replied seriously, "Many students who come to Xialai for duty prefer this kind of encouragement."

"Is this, like this?"

Kirino blinked, sensing that something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Amamiya didn't give Kirino a chance to think further about 'what's wrong'. He clapped his hands, stood up slowly with a serious expression, and looked at Kirino.

"Kirino, I have a task for you that requires serious attention..."

Amamiya's deliberately serious and imposing aura made Kirino unconsciously become serious as well, even tense.

She immediately straightened up and replied earnestly, "Is there anything Sensei needs me to do?"

"Go to the Valkyrie Public Security Bureau and investigate the matter concerning the 'Fox Squad' and 'SRT Academy.' Compile all the information you can find, make a copy, and bring it to me."

Kirino gave a swift and precise salute.

"Understood, I'll do it right away!"

After making her 'guarantee', Kirino ran off energetically.

Watching Kirino push open the door and leave, Amamiya sighed and shook his head.

Hopefully Kirino can handle this well...

Turning her gaze away, Amamiya began to ponder what to do next.

Right now, the investigation into 'SRT Academy' and 'Fox Squad' is only just getting into the main topic.

Amamiya, who sent Kirino to gather information through another channel, naturally couldn't just sit back and reap the benefits.

After a moment's thought, Amamiya decided to make a trip to the Millennium.

"I happen to know someone in the know, let's ask her..."

Chapter Fourteen: The "Cyber ​​Witches" of the Engineering Department

The Engineering Department of the Millennium Science Academy is a unique building that can be described as a "genius workshop that never stops working."

It is said that 'cyber witches' live here.

Using metal as their material, creativity as their magic, and mechanical tools like wrenches as their magic wands, they create all sorts of 'magical props' with wondrous appearances and even more wondrous effects through a form that is infinitely close to magic.

This is the "preconceived notion" that most other Kivotos Academy schools, even those located a thousand years ago, have of the Engineering Department of that millennium and the inventions it produced.

Regarding this "preconceived notion," an engineering student who happened to be passing by said he had something to say.

Facing the calm gaze of the girl, whose pale purple skin was as fragrant and smooth as a hyacinth, whose red eyes were clear and serene, and whose temperament could absolutely be described as "princess," the millennium student pushed up his thick, round-framed glasses and earnestly corrected her:

"Let me state upfront... our millennia-old engineering department is definitely not as exaggerated as the outside world claims..."

She made the correction with a solemn expression, even a sense of reverence.

"Senior Utahara and the others are definitely not the legendary 'cyber witches'..."

"They are truly the 'Three Witches on the Boundary Line,' standing at the very pinnacle of ordinary technology!"

Perhaps it was the sacred and mission-laden words she received from the other party, along with their relatively impassioned actions, that made Ajinko seem somewhat yearning.

Her crimson eyes gleamed slightly, and after a moment of silence, the girl smiled and clapped softly.

"I see... That's amazing. Thank you for explaining."

"Hehe, you're welcome. Oh, by the way, this is my personal business card... If you have any scientific equipment and don't want to wait in line for Kagahara-senpai and the others to take your orders... you can also consider me~ Although my skills can't compare to Kagahara-senpai and the others, at least my service will definitely be excellent!"

After handing a business card with a QR code and other basic information to Ajinko, the engineering department member turned and hurriedly left.

As for Akiko, after finishing what was probably her 'first time' having a normal conversation with the other students from the academy, she stood there thinking for a while.

After summarizing her experience, Akiko carefully stuffed the business card into her pocket and jogged back to Amamiya, who was standing at the street corner quietly observing the scene.

“Sensei…” the girl said, lowering her head and brushing her bangs aside as she asked somewhat nervously, “My performance… was alright, right?”

Amamiya smiled gently and nodded to Azuko.

"Average, with no obvious flaws... above average."

【~???~】

"Hehe... Being praised by Sensei like this, I always feel..."

"I feel a slight sense of accomplishment."

Yajinko smiled, but uttered a phrase that would break the hearts of those who heard it.

Amamiya maintained a gentle expression, but inwardly she let out a long sigh.

For Arius's special squad, who had been on the run for a while, the real, longed-for "campus life" was a distant memory...

Even so, conversing with other normal people is a 'luxury that one has to look up to'.

Fortunately, Azuko didn't seem to want to dwell too much on the past, which was filled with too much leaden gray and painful sensations.

She gazed intently at the distant building, which resembled a "Druidic Heritage Temple from a fantasy world," a unique and striking structure among the landmarks of the Millennium Autonomous Region.

"Sensei..."

With a slight pout, Akiko pointed curiously to the "mechanical gear tower" atop the building and asked, "Were those changes... also brought about by you?"

Amamiya felt a little uncomfortable under Akiko's 'innocent' and curious gaze.

In response to the girl's expectation, he earnestly met her gaze and nodded to Ajinko.

Amamiya gave a vague summary: "You could say that..."

Without his provision of "Eden Alloy," the engineering department would never have 'gone astray' as it is now.

"What would the legendary 'Cyber ​​Witch' be like...?"

Yazuko was already starting to feel a little excited.

Amamiya, who knew Utahara, Hibiki, Cortoli, and Yuriko, the 'core members of the engineering department,' wanted to say something... but since she couldn't bear to shatter Akiko's expectations, she chose to remain silent.

“Ajinko…”

Amamiya called out, and then the girl winked at Amamiya in a slightly playful manner.

As she said this, Azuko quietly took half a step forward and grabbed Amamiya's clothes with one hand.

She appeared innocent and adorable, like a naive child who needed to hold onto an adult's clothes to avoid getting lost—yet Amamiya could clearly see the cunning hidden deep within her clear eyes and calm expression.

“Sensei, I will hold onto your clothes and won’t get lost.”

Amamiya: "..."

He said nothing more and led Yajinzi into the bustling engineering department in a way that drew the attention of outsiders.